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The Eurovision Song Contest 1997 was the 42nd of the long running light entertainment show, and it was held at the Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997. Carrie Crowley and Boyzone member Ronan Keating were the presenters of the show.

American-led group Katrina and The Waves, representing the United Kingdom, were the winners of the contest with the song Love Shine a Light, written by that band's lead guitarist Kimberley Rew (whom didn't appear on stage), and Marc Roberts representing the host country came second with Mysterious Woman. Despite being the runner-up, it remarkably received only one 12-point score, which came from the United Kingdom.

The UK spokesman Colin Berry remarked: "You're going to like this one: Ireland, twelve points!" causing Terry Wogan to reply: "Well, tit for tat!" The winning song scored an unprecedented 227 points; it received points from all participating countries, including five sets of 10 points and a record-breaking ten sets of the maximum 12 points. Love Shine a Light is still regarded as one of the most successful Eurovision winners, and was the closing song in the medley that opened the 50th anniversary show Congratulations in Copenhagen in 2005, and the Eurovision 2006 semi-final in Athens. With this victory, the United Kingdom has five Eurovision wins and it is, to date, the country's last win in the Contest.

After the controversy over the pre-qualifier in 1996, the EBU introduced a new system for 1997: countries with the lowest average scores over the previous four years would be relegated from the 1997 contest, and those with the lowest averages over the previous five years would be excluded from future contests (save that every country so excluded for one year would automatically be allowed to participate the following year), with so many countries being omitted as would reduce the number of participants each year to 25. 

Televoting was also tested in 5 countries (Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) with the remaining 20 continuing to use the juries.

Belgium, Finland, North Macedonia, Romania and Slovakia were relegated due to a low average of points, while Israel declined to participate, as the Contest was held on its Holocaust Remembrance Day, granting a reprieve to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would otherwise have been excluded owing to its low point average over the previous four years. It would also be Italy's last appearance until its return in 2011.

1997 also brought the first year of the fan page Eurovisionhouse.nl's Barbara Dex Award, which was awarded to the Maltese entrant Debbie Scerri.

Gallery[]

Participants[]

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Cyprus Cyprus Hara & Andreas Konstantinou Mana Mou Greek Motherland 5 98
02 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Şebnem Paker and Grup Ethnic Dinle Turkish Listen 3 121
03 Flag of Norway Norway Tor Endresen San Francisco Norwegian -- 24 0
04 Flag of Austria Austria Bettina Soriat One Step German 21 12
05 Flag of Ireland Ireland Marc Roberts Mysterious Woman English 2 157
06 Flag of Slovenia Slovenia Tanja Ribič Zbudi se Slovene Wake up 10 60
07 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Barbara Berta Dentro di me Italian Inside of me 22 5
08 Flag of The Netherlands The Netherlands Mrs. Einstein Niemand heeft nog tijd Dutch No one has time anymore 22 5
09 Flag of Italy Italy Jalisse Fiumi di parole Italian Rivers of words 4 114
10 Flag of Spain Spain Marcos Llunas Sin rencor Spanish Without rancor 6 96
11 Flag of Germany Germany Bianca Shomburg Zeit German Time 18 22
12 Flag of Poland Poland Anna Maria Jopek Ale jestem Polish But I am 11 54
13 Flag of Estonia Estonia Maarja-Liis Ilus Keelatud maa Estonian Forbidden land 8 82
14 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Alma Čardžić Goodbye Bosnian -- 18 22
15 Flag of Portugal Portugal Célia Lawson Antes do adeus Portuguese Before goodbye 24 0
16 Flag of Sweden Sweden Blond Bara hon älskar mig Swedish If only she loves me 14 36
17 Flag of Greece Greece Marianna Zorba Horepse Greek Dance 12 39
18 Flag of Malta Malta Debbie Scerri Let Me Fly English -- 9 66
19 Flag of Hungary Hungary V.I.P. Miért kell, hogy elmenj? Hungarian Why do you have to go? 12 39
20 Flag of Russia Russia Alla Pugacheva Primadonna Russian -- 15 33
21 Flag of Denmark Denmark Kølig Kaj Stemmen i mit liv Danish The voice in my life 16 25
22 Flag of France France Fanny Sentiments songes French Sentimental feelings 7 95
23 Flag of Croatia Croatia E.N.I. Probudi me Croatian Awaken me 17 24
24 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Katrina and The Waves Love Shine a Light English -- 1 227
25 Flag of Iceland Iceland Paul Oscar Minn hinsti dans Icelandic My final dance 20 18


Eurovision Song Contest
Editions
195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Countries
AlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroMoroccoThe NetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUkraineYugoslavia
Winning Songs
RefrainNet Als ToenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de Cire, Poupée de SonMerci, ChériePuppet on a StringLa, La, LaBoom Bang-a-BangVivo CantandoUn jour, un enfantDe TroubadourAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès ToiTu Te ReconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses For MeL'Oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggiloo DiggileyLa Det SwingeJ'aime La VieHold Me NowNe Partez Pas Sans MoiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me To Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEveryway That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
Specials
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision's Greatest HitsEurope Shine a Light
Aspects of Eurovision
CommentatorEuroClubEurovision VillageExecutive SupervisorFlag ParadeGrand PrixGreen RoomHead of DelegationInterval ActNational FinalNational JuryOfficial RulesOpening CeremonyPre-PartiesPre-Song PostcardsReference GroupRest of the World VoteRunning Order DrawSemi-FinalsScoreboardSpokespersonTelevotingVoting Systems
Miscellaneous
Big FiveCurse of 43Curse of Number TwoCurse of GreenDouze Points!ESCRadio AwardsESC Top 250Eurovision AgainEurovision National BroadcastersEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaFounding SevenLGBT visibilityLynda WoodruffMarcel Bezençon AwardsNul PointsOGAERecordsStand-insThe Reorder BoardTie SituationTop Scoring SongsVoting DiasporaWinner's CurseWithdrawn SongsYou're a Vision Award


Trivia[]

  • With the rule change of having optional instruments on stage, four countries used playback entirely: Ireland, Austria, Germany, and Croatia.
    • In addition, Greece's Horepse was the last song to feature band members playing alongside the orchestra.
    • Love Shine a Light was the last winner that used an orchestral arrangement, as Diva the following year would use a backing track.
    • This was the last year in which the Icelandic, Russian, Bosnian, Austrian, Danish, Swiss, Greek, Maltese, and Italian entries would use an orchestral arrangement (the first five due to relegation, the next three voluntarily doing so, and Italy's withdrawal).
  • This was the first Irish held contest since 1971 which didn't feature Noel Kelehan as the musical director, as he was ill at the time of the competition.
  • RAI only participated in this edition because they missed the deadline to withdraw from it, therefore they picked Jalisse as the winners of Sanremo to represent them. It was the first time since 1972 where both the winning song and artist were pulled out of Sanremo to represent the country.
  • Marie-Claire Vionnet, who acted as scrutineer for this edition, was best known as the longtime right-hand partner of former Executive Supervisor Frank Naef from 1978 to 1992.
  • This was the first year from the 20th century to be featured on Eurovision Again.

Videos[]

Eurovision_Song_Contest_1997_(No_commentary)

Eurovision Song Contest 1997 (No commentary)

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